Automotive vehicles may include hands free communication units allowing an occupant of the vehicle to interact with various vehicle systems and to place and receive cellular telephone calls without having to take a hand off the steering wheel. The hands free communication unit may include microphones or microphone arrays placed within a passenger compartment of the vehicle to receive verbal commands from the occupant. The hands free communication unit may be connected to the vehicle's audio speaker system allowing the occupant to listen to system prompts and notifications and to a person on the other end of a telephone call through the vehicle speakers. The hands free communication unit may be either wired or wirelessly connected to the occupant's cellular telephone, such that the occupant can participate in a telephone conversation through the microphone and audio speakers.
The hands free communication units may utilize a voice recognition system for enabling the occupant to control various vehicle systems and features and connected mobile devices, such as the occupant's cellular telephone, through vocal commands. The voice recognition system may be coupled with a vehicle navigation system integrated into the vehicle, thereby allowing the occupant to input a route destination through vocal commands. Integration of the voice recognition system with the vehicle is a useful feature that allows the vehicle occupant to control various devices without diverting attention from the road.
The voice recognition system may be configured to recognize a predetermined set of verbal commands. Simple voice commands may be used, for example, to initiate phone calls, select radio stations or play music from a vehicle integrated audio system or an interconnected mobile device, such as a smartphone, MP3 player or music-loaded flash drive. The voice recognition system may provide natural-language speech recognition that enables the occupant to use full sentences and common phrases. Multiple discrete verbal commands may be required to commence a particular task, such as initiating a phone call. The verbal commands may be provided in response to prompts from the vehicle's audio system. For example, an occupant may make a verbal request to call a person identified in a contact list. If the selected contact has multiple phone numbers, the audio system may prompt the occupant to select one of the listed phone numbers to call.
To minimize distraction to a vehicle operator, some voice recognition systems may permit combining multiple discrete voice commands into a single continuous command string. The operator, however, may not always be aware of this functionality or understand how to properly format the command string. In those circumstances the operator may benefit from receiving instructions and guidance regarding the availability of alternatively formatted voice command strings.